Food they’llactuallyeat

Homemade Oreos

RECIPE COURTESY OF REESE LICHTENSTEIN, HOMEROOM

The classic Oreo as a childhood favorite is nothing new. But these treats are something else altogether. Oakland’s Homeroom has developed quite the following, owing largely to its classic mac and cheese and various riffs on the schoolkid staple. But one bite of these whoopie pie-esque confections will make you realize this joint is more than just a purveyor of pasta. Those stale, prepackaged snack cakes we won’t mention any names have nothing on this delicious dessert. Pop one or two in your kids’ lunchboxes, and they’ll be the envy of the schoolyard. Just make sure you don’t eat them all yourself first.

Ingredients

Chocolate cookies

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon table salt

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons kosher salt or flaky sea salt, for topping

Vanilla filling

Preheat the oven to 375 F

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt.

Mix

Still on low, add ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, eggs.

¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To make the filling, blend butter, vegetable shortening.

Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, pure vanilla extract

Art meets nature

Art and nature intertwine at the Presidio National Park in San Francisco. Check out Wood Line, which runs parallel to the Lover’s Lane trail Wood Line is a work of art by Andy Goldsworthy, who also created Drawn Stone, a crack that starts in the roadway and ends at the entrance of the de Young Museum. Wood Line, made of eucalyptus trees that were removed for park projects, winds along the ground and is more than 1,200 feet long If it’s 11 a.m -4 p.m. on a Sunday or 5-9 p.m on a Thursday, take the kids to Off the Grid at the Presidio afterward for some top-notch street eats.